Thanks to the generosity and vision of the late John Drescher, Santa Monica College is the home to a computerized planetarium theater. At its heart is the Evans & Sutherland Digistar II planetarium projector, which was the first of its kind on the West Coast. Using digital technology, audiences can fly beyond the solar system and soar among the stars. We can transport you across our galaxy to the limits of spacetime.
Planetarium this week
New free, live, virtual public shows!
Watch this space for more information
January 27th's telescope observing event on campus was a success and we would like to thank all those who attended and helped make it a memorable evening, including the faculty and members of the SMC Astronomy Club who helped out - not to mention multiple audience members who offered help with putting equipment away.
We intend to follow up with more similar events but will probably schedule them for Saturday evenings rathe than Fridays. Watch this space for developments.
Zoom link for May Friday Evening shows
Zoom link for JUNE Friday Evening public shows
Invitation links to the live online events are generally posted the Thursday before. These programs are only available LIVE on Friday evenings, and on the occasional Matinee dates, normally Sundays. Clicking on the Zoom links at other times will not work.
Please scroll down beyond the calendar for notes on upcoming 8 p.m. programs
We also look forward to the expanded capabilities of the new planetarium SMC is building for opening in Fall 2024.
Jim Mahon
Senior Planetarium Lecturer
Weekly Night Sky Show
The Night Sky programs will last roughly 30 - 40 minutes, followed by a short question and answer period where guests can type questions into a chat box and we will answer as many questions as possible. There will be a short intermission at approximately 7:50 p.m. prior to the start of the Feature program at 8 p.m.
Matinee Programs
Sunday afternoon matinees feature a condensed presentation combining elements of the previous Friday night's programming.
Feature Programs, May/June
Note that all 8 p.m. feature programs are preceded by the 7 p.m. “Night Sky” program described above.
Currently all presentations are online ONLY, with the exception of occasional observing programs.
May 12th: The Life Cycle of Stars: A Walk Along the Main Sequence
May 19th: Skylab: America's First Space Station - A 50 Year Retrospective, Part One
No Shows May 26th
June 2nd: A Look at the Dark Universe
June 9th: Shedding Light on a Nebulous Cosmos
June 16th: Deep Sky Exotica
June 23rd: Women in Astronomy
June 30th: A Short History of Rocketry
Location of Planetarium (Currently closed)
Drescher Hall, 2nd Floor
1900 Pico Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Campus M
The Drescher Planetarium is located in the middle of the second floor of Drescher Hall on the north side of the Santa Monica College campus. Drescher Hall is the three story brown building on the South East corner of Pico Blvd. and 17th Street. We are in Santa Monica, south of the 10 (Santa Monica) Freeway and west of the 405 (San Diego) Freeway.